Regionally-focused, industry-designed events

Group ASI is proud to announce three Advanced Work Packaging events in 2019: The AWP Summit in Edmonton, Alberta and AWP Conferences in London, England and Houston, Texas. The Summit marks the return of an AWP-focused event to Alberta for the first time since 2013, and the AWP Conference London is the first-ever international AWP Conference. In Houston, we celebrate the sixth consecutive year for this thought-leadership event that has been the world’s forum for AWP advancement and discussion of global adoption since 2014. As AWP goes global, so too does the AWP Conference.

Each of the AWP events is designed by and for industry with Advisory Board composed of AWP implementers and implementation support experts, with the support of the Construction Industry Institute (CII) and Construction Owners Association of Alberta (COAA) - developers and publishers of the AWP Best Practices.

On this page, you will find summaries and comparisons of each of the 2019 events.

Edmonton, Alberta, CanadaAWP Summit

Theme

Accelerate Alberta Projects with Advanced Work Packaging

Current status of AWP in the region

The AWP Summit audience is aware of WorkFace Planning (a core component of AWP), but is less aware of AWP. The economic conditions in the region have resulted a reduction of large capital projects which has impacted regional adoption of AWP.

AWP implementation challenges IN THE REGION

The reduction in project work in the region has made contractors ‘hungrier’ and bids more competitive. Contractors are more receptive to adapting their existing business practices to meet owner requirements, but they need to know what the owners expect, and how to best support them.

Special Considerations

This event is being developed in conjunction with the COAA Best Practices Conference 2019. The Scalable AWP Model (a COAA AWP Committee project) is being released at the COAA BP Conference, so a session on Scalable AWP will not be included in the AWP Summit program.

AWP knowledge level / AWP maturity

The anticipated audience for the AWP Summit will be experienced construction professionals with knowledge in WorkFace Planning practices and principles. The audience will likely be less knowledgeable/experienced in AWP implementation, but there is a general awareness of the concepts within Alberta, and some organizations have adopted full-scope AWP, or are working toward AWP maturity goals.

Impact on programming

In consideration of the current status of AWP, the AWP implementation challenges and the general AWP knowledge / maturity level for the region, we have developed a program that focused on AWP as it relates / can benefit Alberta projects and organizations. While AWP is a best practice with global implications, we have engaged the COAA membership and other companies with Alberta interests to develop an event for Alberta project performance thought leadership.

United Kingdom:AWP Conference London

Theme

Current status of AWP in the region

AWP is a relatively new concept in the UK, where the focus has been on application of technologies and processes such as BIM, construction digitisation, Lean Construction and emerging concepts such as platforming approaches to design for manufacturing.

AWP implementation challenges IN THE REGION

While it is important to present AWP as it was developed by CII, it is also important to include information on UK-based initiatives, as AWP will ultimately be implemented in alignment with ongoing movements such as BIM and digitisation; we are looking at the integration of processes and technologies for overall project performance improvement.

Special Considerations

The local focus and mandate on BIM and digitisation processes and technologies plays a very important role in the region; planned expenditures over the next 10 years are estimated at $800 billion. The UK government requires the use of BIM and evidence of methodologies (such as digital construction) to achieve high productivity. BIM and digitisation align and integrate with AWP.

AWP knowledge level / AWP maturity

The anticipated audience for AWP Conference London will be generally new to AWP concepts, but more advanced in complementary concepts.

Impact on programming

In consideration of the current status of AWP, the AWP implementation challenges and the general AWP knowledge / maturity level for the region, we have developed a program that blends a variety of AWP-centric content with content that is directly and indirectly based on UK-centric process and technology initiatives. We have also incorporated an AWP Primer and discussion of real-world projects to provide the audience with a clear understanding of the fundamental concepts, benefits, priorities and challenges of AWP from a global perspective.

Houston, Texas, USAAWP Conference 2019

Theme

To be announced. This is the sixth AWP event in Houston since 2014.

Current status of AWP in the region

There has been a shift in recent years from increasing the general awareness level of AWP & generating buy-in, to a focus on specific implementation approaches. We are now seeing organizations move toward higher stages of AWP maturity. The scalability of AWP is a more recent topic of growing importance.

AWP implementation challenges IN THE REGION

The benefits of AWP are real and developments are occuring very quickly. Involvement of industry-leading owners and contractors is critical to optimizing the effectiveness of AWP initiatives as the applicability of the best practices goes global.

Special Considerations

This event is in a growth phase - it continues to serve as a primary industry forum for advancement of AWP adoption and maturity and is a strategically important event for senior management of companies leading the way in the AWP domain.

AWP knowledge level / AWP maturity

The AWP Conference: Houston audiences are generally very experienced in construction planning and execution methods and are knowledgeable / experienced in AWP principles and practices and AWP implementation approaches.